Folding Steel: New Floating Staircase for a Refab Attic Space

The challenge: replace a standard skinny ladder leading up to an unfinished attic with working stairs … but they must be able to wrap within the same limited confines of a tiny landing. The solution: an elegant folded sheet of steel connected to a newly-renovated living room area within the uppermost story of this small and thin London flat.

Look closely: the single-piece set of stairs and treads twists from bottom to top without ever touching the adjacent walls or the central pole that serves as a handrail, being fully self-supported along the way.

A simple sheet of glass serves as a protective barrier instead of regular wrapping railings (unfortunately not something that would be likely to pass US fire code inspections).

Tamir Addadi Architecture followed the wishes of their clients, creating something that stood out as different – clearly an additional, furniture-like element adding to the more traditional existing apartment.

At the top of the climb lies a cozy living room lined with warm wooden panels, bookended by existing exposed brickwork and perforated for a single skylight to let in natural rays during the day while making the space feel private and enclosed.